Campaigners oppose new Buckinghamshire prison
The 1,440 place prison could be built next to HMP Springhill
Campaigners are fighting a potential new prison for Buckinghamshire - saying the money should be spent elsewhere.
The Ministry of Justice is looking at building a 1,440 place jail next to Springhill.
However, Community Action on Prison Expansion are sceptical about the positive impacts the government's set out.
They're asking people to add objections to the official consultation, which runs until Thursday.
In setting out the proposals, Lucy Frazer QC MP, Minister of State for Prisons and Probation, said:
"In line with Government policy announced by the Prime Minister last summer and at the recent Spending Review, the Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service are taking forward plans to create at least 18,000 additional prison places across the prison estate.
"We are working towards delivering these additional places over the next six years and we will do this through a combination of new builds, as proposed here in Buckinghamshire, as well as extending, refurbishing and maintaining the existing estate."
Not what is needed
The campaign group argue this prison isn't needed.
They argue that:
- Traffic would increase on local roads
- Although the building would be carbon-neutral, construction will have a big impact on the environment
- The potential costs into the hundreds of millions could isn't worth it and the money could be spent on local services
- Far fewer jobs will actually be created compared to estimates given in the range of 500/600 at the moment
- Building more prisons only increases the numbers incarcerated and doesn't help fix problems
You can read more about the proposals here**** and have your say here** before 24/12.